U.S. Army Contractor In Hot Water Over Afghan Video

Oct. 18, 2012 - 07:47AM
|

WASHINGTON — A private security company working for the U.S. government in Afghanistan is in hot water after a video surfaced allegedly showing several of its employees drunk and on drugs, U.S. broadcaster ABC reported Oct. 17.

The video, posted on the website of ABC, was purportedly taken at an operations center belonging to U.S. defense contractor Jorge Scientific. It shows men with nude torsos downing vodka shots and wrestling with one another.

Another man, identified as the medic of the group, is shown in a dazed state after shooting up with Ketamine, a strong anesthetic.

Contractors working for the U.S. Army are banned from the use of alcohol and drugs.

The cellphone video, shot earlier this year, was provided to ABC by two former employees of the company who have filed a lawsuit against it.

“They endangered Jorge employees, the U.S. mission, and U.S. military personnel,” claims the lawsuit obtained by ABC.

The two men filing the suit worked as armed security officers in Kabul as part of a $47 million contract the company had to train Afghan police in counter-insurgency.

They told ABC they quit in disgust and out of fear their own safety was at risk due to the behavior of their colleagues.

In a statement, Jorge Scientific — which has won almost $1 billion in U.S. government contracts — said it had “taken decisive action to correct the unacceptable behavior of a limited number of employees” and hired an independent investigation team to carry out a probe.

An unspecified number of employees, including a former senior executive and “several others mentioned in the complaint,” no longer work for the company, it said.

The Pentagon takes “all allegations of inappropriate behavior by contractors and service members very seriously,” Commander Bill Speaks, a spokesman, told AFP.

The U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division was looking into the allegations, he added, but he declined to provide any details.

According to ABC, at least one U.S. Army major — a female — regularly joined the parties and engaged in sexual activities at the company’s facility.

Almost 114,000 contractors worked for the Pentagon in Afghanistan as of July 1, more than the 90,000 U.S. soldiers deployed there, according to official statistics.